It's All About Teamwork
by Ariana Aislinn
Summary: Sora and friends have come to Spira in order to seal its keyhole...but they're about to get distracted by the biggest blitzball tournament of the year!


**_It's All About Teamwork_**  
_By Ariana Aislinn_

_I'm so awful! I was thinking that I needed to write more often, and then I realized I'd done an LJ fanfiction meme months ago and never followed through with it. So, here you go...a short oneshot based on a request Koorino Megumi made! The challenge was to write a fic based on a line from my epic The Road to Dawn. Megumi chose the line, "Never know what might've been overlooked, do you?" and asked that I write about Donald and Goofy. Well, this is about them, but also about Sora...hope you like it! Comments and criticism are welcome, but I hope you'll understand if this isn't very polished. I wrote it all in one go and it's probably a little rough around the edges, though I think I fixed most of the big mistakes._

_Oh, this fic was also inspired by a random piece of fanart I drew. I'll put a link up in my profile for those who are interested._

_Standard disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X, and their characters are the property of Square-Enix and Disney, not me._

* * *

"I don't get it!" Sora sighed, clasping his hands behind his head as he walked along the Bevelle highbridge. "We've looked just about everywhere in this world, and we still haven't seen a trace of the keyhole!"

"Well, gawrsh," Goofy mused, "how did we find the keyholes in all the other worlds?"

Sora shrugged. "Well, usually we follow the Heartless…but they're all over in this world, and we haven't seen anything they're particularly interested in."

"Why don't we go back to Luca?" suggested Goofy.

"Hmph! We've already been there!" Donald grumbled. "We didn't have any luck at all, and we searched everywhere."

Sora grinned at the duck. "It's not a bad idea, though. Never know what might've been overlooked, do you?"

Donald folded his arms and frowned. "We've checked all the major public places, so I…" He stopped, whirling around to face Sora, his hands on his hips. "Wait! You just want to go see the blitzball tournament!"

Sora grinned innocently and didn't answer. Goofy just chuckled. They'd been all over this new world of Spira, looking for the keyhole, and everywhere they went, people were talking about blitzball. The official start of the season was coming up soon, and Spira's favorite sport was the first subject on everyone's mind. Sora and his friends had gotten a glimpse of the blitzball stadium when they were in Luca before, and it had immediately captured Sora's imagination.

"Hmph. I don't see how this is going to be any use."

"Aw, relax, Donald! It'll be fun, and we could use a break, anyway." Goofy hummed to himself as he hurried toward Macalania Woods, where they had hidden the gummi ship. Donald hurried after him and Sora, still grumbling to himself.

* * *

Luca was usually a bustling town, but today the crowds and activity rivaled even the huge city of Bevelle. Sora's eyes shone as he dragged his friends through the streets, squeezing between crowds of people as they made their way to the stadium. Finally the three friends stood at the entrance, watching the banners wave in the breeze as people streamed into the stadium. They recognized a few blitzball players, too, stopping briefly at the main desk to check in before heading for the locker rooms.

"I wish I could play," Sora told the others wistfully.

"Gawrsh, do ya know how, Sora?"

The boy shrugged. "Well...we have blitzball back on the islands, but it isn't played underwater like this. Still, it doesn't look that hard. I saw some games on the sphere when we were here before, remember. The rules look pretty much the same as what I'm used to, only you play underwater, and the games are much shorter."

"Underwater!" Donald quacked. "That's just the problem! Blitzball players train to hold their breath long enough to play the game, and you haven't done anything of the sort. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if people in this world are just built differently. They can hold their breath a lot longer than we could."

"That wouldn't be a problem!" Sora poked the duck in the stomach, grinning. "Just use your magic like you did on Atlantica."

"I'm _sure_ that'd be against the rules."

"Aww, you're no fun!"

"Hey, guys, listen up! Sounds like they've got a problem, a-hyuck…"

The other two ceased their quarrelling and looked where Goofy was pointing. Three men in green and yellow blitzball uniforms stood at the front desk, arguing with the lady in charge of registration.

"I'm sorry," the woman told them, "but you should know that there's no way you can play a game of blitzball with less than six players. I'm sorry, but that's the bare minimum."

"It's not fair!" whined one of the men, a tall, skinny redhead who looked built for speed and agility.

His dark-haired, somewhat stocky companion nodded in agreement. "It isn't our fault. The rest of our team all got sick with food poisoning from the café we ate at last night!"

The third man, a muscular blond, sighed. "Look, guys, it's no use. We can't play a game with three players. Even if they let us, there's no way we could ever win a game that way."

"How about letting us join you?"

Donald smacked his face with his palm and sighed, shaking his head. "I knew this would happen…"

Sora grinned, sticking out his hand. "Hi! My name's Sora. You need a few extra players?"

"Uh…" The redhead looked around, his eyes wide as he surveyed Donald and Goofy. He seemed to take their odd appearance in stride, however, and shrugged his shoulders. "Can you play?"

"Sure! At least, I think I can. I've watched enough to figure out the rules, and hey, I'm pretty good at most sports, especially swimming."

"Well…" The man smiled, taking Sora's proffered hand. "I'm Lekki. Nice to meet you. That's Pajja, our goalie - " he indicated the stocky, dark-haired man, who smiled - "and muscles-for-brains here is Ketto. He's on defense. I'm our midfielder. So…that leaves one defense position, and two offense. Think you guys can handle it?"

Sora looked from Donald to Goofy and back again. "What do you think, guys?"

"Sure!" Goofy nodded his head, grinning. "I'll give it a go. I'll take defense, a-hyuck."

"Donald?"

Donald sighed. "Well…I guess I could try playing offense with you, Sora." He smiled unexpectedly. "I might even score a few goals!"

"Really? I didn't know you were all that athletic."

"Maybe not most of the time, but I _am_ a duck!" Donald grinned. "You'd be surprised how good I am in the water."

"True!" Sora laughed, then turned to Lekki. "Guess we're in!"

"Great! Nice to have you on board, Sora. So, who are your friends?"

"Oh, right!" Sora colored slightly, then gestured to his companions. "This is Donald, and this is Goofy. They're some of my best friends." He grinned, then stopped, thinking of something. "Hey, what's your team called, anyway?"

"Oh, we're brand new this year. We're from Kilika, and though the Youth League and New Yevon are getting along better these days, a bunch of us from New Yevon thought it might be a good idea to get together our own team, since most of the Kilika Beasts are from the Youth League. Sometimes a bit of good-natured competition can actually help reduce tensions, you know?"

Sora shrugged a bit helplessly. He knew a little about who these different groups were, but the politics of it all went completely over his head.

Ketto laughed. "You're confusing the kid. Anyway, to answer your question, Sora, we're Ohalland's Legacy. Some people back home thought it was kinda pretentious, but hey…Lord Ohalland was a high summoner _and_ the best blitzball player of all time! So we thought we'd honor him with our team name."

"Yeah, now we just gotta honor him with our playing," Pajja said nervously.

"Aw, don't talk that way - we're gonna do great!"

Lekki turned to the lady at the registration desk. "Guess we've got three more players!"

"All right, then, sign here, and then you may proceed to Locker Room C."

Once the paperwork was taken care of, the little group made their way up the steps of the stadium. "Oh, hey," Pajja said suddenly, "What're we gonna do about uniforms?"

Donald grinned. "Leave that to me!"

* * *

"I thought you said using your magic was cheating, Donald!"

Donald grinned, admiring his handiwork. "Well, I'm not going to turn you into a fish, like I did in Atlantica…but like I said, people here are different from us. It's only fair to make sure we can hold our breaths for the duration of the game, at least. And making us uniforms is _definitely_ fair game!"

"I agree!" Goofy said happily. "These new duds are great."

Sora had to admit his outfit was pretty slick. It wasn't that much different from his usual clothes, but with fewer decorations and loose fabric that might get in the way and slow him down in the water. He now wore a jacket and knee-length shorts. He wore no shirt underneath, but the jacket was attached to the shorts with straps, to keep it from coming loose. For some reason, he still retained his hood, which seemed to be part of the standard uniform for the team; Lekki, Pajja, and Ketto all had them, too. Donald and Goofy were similarly garbed, and all of them wore armguards as well, to help them control the ball. Each of the uniforms was bright yellow and green, with a large "O" on the front.

"I'm just not gonna ask how you managed that," grinned Ketto. "But ya look pretty snazzy!"

Donald looked proud and frustrated all at once, obviously irritated that he couldn't explain about his magic. Sora had to hide a grin.

"Hey, everybody huddle!" called Lekki. "We start warm-ups in just a few minutes."

* * *

Blitzball really was simple, when it came right down to it. The team discussed some simple strategies, then got to take a few minutes to warm up before heading for the sphere pool. Sora felt pretty confident about the basics of passing and tackling, but he knew things would be different once he got in the water. He wasn't prepared for the immensity of the sphere pool, however - or for the crowds of screaming fans.

"Wow," Sora breathed, his eyes wide. "Blitzball really _is_ popular here, isn't it?"

Ketto laughed. "You'd better believe it, kid. Okay, you ready? Up we go!"

They had to climb a very steep set of stairs to get to the upper ring that circled the top of the sphere pool. Sora and the others entered the ring with splashing steps, then waited for an attendant to give them the go-ahead to enter the sphere pool. When the man nodded, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all took deep breaths and leaped into the huge sphere of bright, clear water.

As Ohalland's Legacy swam to their positions to await the starting whistle, they surveyed the first team they would be playing. They were up against the Al Bhed Psyches first, a team that Lekki had said wasn't especially known for its skill. Donald looked at Sora, and Sora gave his friend an encouraging thumbs up as the whistle blew.

The first game was over in a rush of water and adrenaline. Sora found himself scoring goal after goal, and Goofy intercepted more than one shot toward their team's own goal. Even Donald did surprisingly well, making several assists as he and Sora passed the ball between them. The three friends grinned, giving each other high fives before they swam out of the sphere pool and hoisted themselves into the upper ring.

"Man, that was great!" Ketto grinned, scattering water droplets everywhere as he shook his head. "I didn't think you could do it, but you were right, you've got a knack. We might have a pretty good chance!"

The team members slapped each other heartily on the back and sat to watch the next few matches, talking eagerly and pointing out different strategies and plays. From their position it was pretty hard to see individual players - Pajja said that the spectators had similar troubles, but the sphere screens were positioned everywhere in the stands, whereas waiting teams had no such benefit. Still, all the teams were clearly recognizable from their uniforms.

Ohalland's Legacy kept jumping back into the sphere pool for more matches. The game was very fast-paced, so it would seem they'd hardly gotten their breath before they had yet another game to play. Eventually they found themselves watching the last semi-final match, shaking their heads in awe. Whoever won this game would be their opponents in the finals.

"I can't believe we made it to the finals," muttered Pajja, shaking his head. "Never thought we'd get this far."

"Hey, have a little more confidence!" grinned Ketto. "'Course, it's partly due to our new friends, here."

Sora grinned. "Hey, we're glad to help!"

After the final buzzer announced the end of the game, they watched the winning team climb out of the sphere pool, congratulating each other. Sora frowned at them; most of the team was decked out in crimson and silver, but one of them, though his uniform was the same, standard style as the others, wore pure black. "Hey, who's that?" he asked, peering closely.

"Dunno." Lekki shrugged. "He's new around here, I heard. Actually, the whole team's new. They're some group of sphere hunters called the Crimson Daggers. Never seen this guy before, though."

The very same player they were discussing approached them, water dripping from the black leather jacket and shorts of his uniform. He grinned at the group, using his hand to slick back his wet and dripping blond hair. "Hey! Nice to see you again, Sora."

"Do I know y-" Sora stopped, his eyes going wide. The clothes were definitely different, but although he wore a blitzball uniform, the similarities to his old clothes were undeniable…and though his hair was wet, Sora realized he'd seen him before. "Demyx!"

"You got it!" The blond grinned and saluted casually. "Looks like we're facing each other in the final match. You got what it takes, kid?"

"Have _you?_" Sora shot back defiantly.

"Hey, see for yourself. We're in the finals, aren't we?" Demyx grinned. "Besides, you should know that I'm a natural in the water. Good luck, Sora…you're gonna need it!" He walked back to his teammates, laughing.

"Oh, great," Donald groaned.

"Come on, Donald - we can take him!" Sora grinned. "He might be good in the water, but I'll bet you he's not so good at a full contact sport like this. All we gotta do is tackle him, right? He'll give up the ball easily, I bet!"

"It's worth a try," nodded Goofy. "But I sure wonder what it is he wants here?"

"Hmm." Sora frowned. "I don't know. But maybe we'll find out after the match. Come on, we'd better go - it's almost time!"

The two teams assembled on opposite sides of the upper ring, then dove into the sphere pool and swam to their places. Sora found himself facing Demyx, who just grinned. It was irritating being unable to speak in the water, or Sora could have come up with some great taunts.

The whistle blew, signaling the blitzoff. Sora swam forward to intercept, but Demyx darted past him in a swirling rush of water, grabbing the blitzball before Sora had time to get close to it. If he'd been on dry land, Sora's jaw would have dropped. How could Demyx be so _fast?_

Before long, Demyx had scored two goals. He grinned, swimming circles around Sora and sticking his tongue out. Sora just gritted his teeth, unable to respond.

Demyx was just too darn _fast,_ and Sora couldn't be everywhere at once. Well, then…he'd just have to use _his_ secret strength - teamwork. He signaled to Donald, gesturing to show what he had in mind. It didn't take much for Donald to guess. He grinned and gave Sora a thumbs up.

After the next blitzoff, Demyx again grabbed the ball and swam for the Ohalland team's goal. This time, however, instead of chasing him, Sora instead made for the goal using the most direct route he could. It wasn't his job to take defense, but he got into position as quickly as he could, working through the plan in his head.

Meanwhile, Donald looped around Demyx, swimming smoothly and easily behind him, but far enough away that Demyx wasn't too concerned about losing the ball to him. Instead, the blond eyed Sora warily, swimming closer to both him and the goal.

From behind Demyx, Donald waved, signaling to Goofy to charge. His friend did so, darting out from where he'd waited behind Sora. He wasn't fast, but he had the advantage of being in front of Demyx, who was jetting swiftly towards him. Demyx managed to evade Goofy's grasp, but Sora appeared on his opposite side, driving him back toward Goofy. Boxed in between the two, Demyx was forced to attempt a pass to one of his teammates - but Donald was there waiting for it. He intercepted the ball and took off for Crimson Daggers' goal, as fast as his webbed feet could take him.

Before the other team could recover, Donald scored. Sora pumped his fist excitedly. It had worked! Now, if they could just catch up…

Now that Sora had relinquished the role of star player, Donald was using his natural adaptation to water to counter Demyx's own speed and grace. The duck's webbed feet carried him powerfully past those who tried to intercept or block him, and before long, the final buzzer had gone off - with Ohalland's Legacy ahead of the Crimson Daggers, four to three.

Climbing out of the sphere pool, Sora, Donald, and Goofy cheered, exchanging high fives with their happy, soaking wet teammates. The fans in the stadium screamed wildly, their cheers filling the air. Sora and his friends fell silent, however, when Demyx approached them, an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Demyx…" Donald muttered.

Demyx grinned. "Well played, Sora. Good to see you're not _all_ talk!" He looked at Goofy and Donald. "And neither are you two, by the looks of it."

"You'd better believe it!" Donald harumphed, folding his arms in front of him and nodding decisively.

"Demyx…" Sora frowned. "What's the Organization after? What were you looking for here?"

"Oh, that's a secret, sorry." Demyx grinned, and his uniform blurred, losing its shape and extending to cover him completely. Instead of a blitzball uniform, the water mage now wore the familiar hooded black coat of the Organization. "Or it could be that all I was looking for…was some competition." He winked, extending a hand in front of him. A black portal appeared, shot through with violet swirls, and Demyx stepped through. "Till next time, kid!" he said, and was gone.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy exchanged glances, and Donald opened his mouth to speak, but instead he let out a startled quack as he was grabbed from behind and lifted into the air.

"We did it!" Ketto laughed, hugging the sputtering duck and then setting him down. "Don't know what's up with that guy from the Crimson Daggers, but that doesn't matter now. We've got a prize to claim!"

Lekki accepted the prize for the team. The entire stadium roared when the trophy was pressed into his hands. Sora grinned, looking around at all the excited uproar, but his smile faded and his brow furrowed when he looked at the pedestal where the trophy had stood. "Hey, guys?" he murmured, then stopped. His Keyblade appeared in his hand, and something at the base of the pedestal glowed.

A beam of light shot out from the Keyblade, and something clicked. The Keyblade vanished. Somehow, the crowds and the officials seemed oblivious; the commentators were busy telling the crowd how amazing it was that a brand new team had taken the Cup in its tournament debut.

"Hey, Sora, we did it!" Goofy grinned, hugging his still-soaking friend around the shoulders.

"We did!" nodded Donald. "You were right - it _was_ worth it to come here. And," he added sheepishly, "it was fun, too."

Sora grinned. "I guess you never _do_ know, do you?"

"Nope!" laughed his friends, as the crowds continued to cheer.

* * *

_(grins) Can't you just see Sora going nuts over blitzball? I know they played it back in Destiny Islands, but not like this, I'm sure. I bet Donald and Goofy would have fun, too... Needless to say, this story is awfully AU, since the gang never went to Spira in KH, and at the time that they met up with the Organization, they weren't trying to seal keyholes...but oh well, I still think it was a fun little story. :P_


End file.
